Angelic Nostalgia
by Laura JN
Summary: Castiel struggles to fulfil his duty to his angel brethren.


Castiel's heart was beating fast as he crawled forwards on all fours. If only he could reach the crate in time. He desperately needed somewhere to hide, and his pursuers would catch sight of him if he took much longer. He scraped his knee in his effort to get behind the crate, but it was worth it. Surely he had bought himself some time. He could hear Lucifer's ragged breathing, as he counted. Castiel trembled. What would he do if he was found? What would _Lucy_ do if he was found? That was when he spotted Balthazar hiding behind the crate next to him. Oh _god._

The angel could not bare to see his brother caught, so he made a small noise, a cough. He would lure them towards him, then make a run for it. A distraction. Lucifer spun around upon hearing the noise, and grinned,

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" He called out mischievously. Castiel gulped. He could hear footsteps approaching, and knew he would have to time his escape just right- but it was too late. Lucifer appeared before him in a flurry of invisible feathers, bending forwards and peering down into his eyes. He smiled, before his hand darted out to Castiel's shoulder. The angel winced,

"Tag! You're it." Lucifer sang, then ran toppled backwards. Blast. Foiled again. Castiel grumbled, as his brother crawled away. That was the last time he played hide and seek with an archangel in the toddler pen.

Balthazar chose this moment to flee, upon realising that Castiel was his new enemy. He tried to crawl away, unable to walk yet, but Castiel had no wish to tag the slowest among them, it was simply unfair. He sought out a more challenging target instead. He used the crate to pull himself up, tugging on the plastic rim, and almost fell into the books it contained. Steadying himself, he looked around, hoping to spot someone. Damn, but they hid well. There were so many stacks of toys in the pen, and so many cushions, it was hard to figure out where they could be hiding. He crept forward from behind the crate, hoping nobody knew he had been tagged. Lucifer had already disappeared.

Castiel wondered for a moment if a prank was being played on him, but surely they would not cheat and leave the pen? Few of them were strong enough to penetrate the defences of the plastic railing yet, only Lucifer had tried, and even he had struggled to climb over. Built by angels, they were of course, unable to use their powers to leave the pen, however they could use their natural strength. The solid 30 inches of red railing was just too much for them though.

At that moment, the angel spotted movement beneath the cushions. His eyes sparked, and he darted forwards, tumbling into the pile of soft cotton. The landing was uncomfortable, but he proceeded to fling the heavy cushions to his side, determined to claim his prize. He glimpsed Gabriel's hair under one cushion, then had a cunning plan,

"Oh I could have sworn someone was under here... what a shame." He made as if to walk away, hearing a low snickering behind him. "I wonder where everyone is. Perhaps I will try the other side of the play pen." His voice was strangely gravelly for a child, and a litter lower in pitch than his brothers'. He heard further snickering from Gabriel, before he crept back to the cushions, and thumped him lightly on the head with his palm, "Tag Gabby, you're it!" He cried in victory, then dashed away. He only made it a short distance, before he spotted an unfamiliar child in front of him. She was taller than him, and therefore faster.

"Gabby thats cheating! No tricks!" Castiel turned away from the projected image of the female angel, before realising that the prank had served its purpose. He had hesitated in his escape.

"Haha tag! Cas is it!" Gabriel announced to the room at large. There were several chuckles from around the room, causing colour to rise in Castiel's cheeks.

"Gabby is cheating! He's still it." Castiel announced a touch louder, before crawling away at full speed. Gabriel pouted, then folded his arms over, sitting down on the floor.

"Lucy gets to use his powers, why can't I?" He asked.

"Because yours are deceptive." Came a familiar, peevish voice from the cupboard. "Oops."

"Found you!" Gabriel cried out with glee. He had succeeded in tricking his brother without the use of his powers. He skipped over the the cupboard, and pulled the door open. Inside sat Michael, hugging his knees to his chest. His eyes were scrunched shut.

"If I can't see you, you can't see me!" Michael announced.

"I don't think it works that way Mikey." came Lucifer's voice from the other side of the pen.

"Does too." Michael nodded to himself; eyes still tightly shut. Gabriel was torn: Could he shatter Michael's view of reality by tagging him, or should he let this one slide... he had no other option.

"Mikey? I don't see Mikey. I only see an empty cupboard." Gabriel stated, before closing the door again, and crawling towards where he had heard Lucifer. "Must have been your imagination." he continued, approaching the toy cars, "You on the other hand." He reached out to tag Lucifer, but he had disappeared in that moment. Two could play at that game however. Gabriel knew this was what Luficer did when he was going to ambush someone from behind, so he zapped himself to several paces behind where Lucifer was likely to choose, and reached forward,

"Tag!" He barely managed to thump Lucifer on the back, moments before he moved again. Gabriel dived behind a box of crayons, breathing hard, and waited. Lucifer would go after Castiel. He always did. Hence the endless cycle of tag in the play pen.

When it was time to go home, Castiel was greeted by a tearful Uriel and Raphael. Held captive by the belts of their pushchairs, they were denied the freedom to crawl around the nursery floor. Angel toddlers were given little freedom in Heaven's aviary, in the hopes that they might learn to control their abilities before they damaged any of god's creation by accident. Uriel and Raphael were babies though, the most dangerous of all. With little to no control over their emotions and powers, they could invoke havoc around them without moving. Castiel had to reach them before they wrecked the nursary. As the latch on the pen door was opened, he scurried outside to hug them both, before they could wail any louder. If they did, the ceiling might shatter, and fall on their heads. That would cause at least a few bruises. Though their powers were weak as infants, their defences were the same as adults. They were unlikely to be harmed by inanimate objects, save seraph blades. But who would harm a child of heaven?

"Did you behave while we were gone?" Gabriel asked the two babies. They sniffled and cried, but the wailing ceased. Raphael nodded a little, while Uriel drooled next to him, already in a world of his own. Castiel was filled with relief. That could have been disastrous. Crisis averted. Or so he thought. A moment later, he whirled around at the sound of a sob. Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. Metatron was trying to coax Michael out of the cupboard. Two crying babies were one thing, but if an arch angel was pushed far enough... Castiel almost tripped in his hurry toward the cupboard. He had to intervene before the scribe said too much.

"-But if even if your eyes are shut – and I'm sure its a marvellous defence – I can see you with my own eyes Mikey." It was too late. Metatron had blabbed out a great truth of reality. Michael's world view would shake, and his very core would re-write itself. This chaos was bound to bring tears. Castiel crawled right up to Michael, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder,

"Its okay Mikey. Remember what dad told us?" He smiled, encouraging Michael to answer allowed, to reinforce the teaching, "About infidelity?"

"No, the other thing."

"_Murder_?"

"No, not that one."

"Oh, Seek and yee shall find?"

"Yes. As angels, we are doomed to be found when we play hide and seek with each other, invisible or not." Realising this global truth, that having his eyes shut made no difference, Michael perked up. And so Castiel had saved the day, and avoided catastrophe.


End file.
